City of Quito: Where Colonial Beauty Meets the Fall of an Empire

00:00:05: Welcome to World Heritage Rookies— the podcast where we explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites one episode at a time! We are Lina

00:00:13: and Ralf and we will travel alongside you to some of the most stunning sites our world has to offer.

00:00:19: Each week, we dive into the history, fun facts, and reasons why World Heritage Sites matter for humanity, sharing our own discoveries and travel tips along the way.

00:00:30: So, let's dive in and learn about some World Heritage together!

00:00:43: Welcome everybody to our second episode of World Heritage Rookies. If you have already joined us in the last episode about the Galapagos Islands, then welcome back. I guess we did something right then.

00:00:55: And if you're new, welcome. This is a podcast about World Heritage sites, so I hope we can entertain you. My name is Lina.

00:01:04: And I'm Ralf. And today I will be a lot more quiet compared to the last episode because today it's all just coming from you, Lina. And you're going to talk with us about the second World Heritage site on our overall list, which is...

00:01:19: The city of Quito. I actually was quite surprised that the World Heritage site number one and number two were in the same country,

00:01:29: Yeah.

00:01:30: a sister country to Colombia, Ecuador. So really, really excited for today's episode.

00:01:35: Great achievement when you think about it. Really, I mean, not just that Galapagos Islands is something really iconic, but then directly the capital.

00:01:42: Mm-hmm.

00:01:43: It must mean something.

00:01:44: And that's something impressive. So it just means that you have to go to Ecuador as soon as possible. We need to go to Ecuador as soon as possible.

00:01:52: Yeah, I still cannot believe that you have never been there, as you told me.

00:01:56: No, unfortunately not, but I mean, it's in my top ten, but honestly, everything is in my top ten.

00:02:02: Yeah, your top ten is like at least 50 places you want to visit.

00:02:06: It changes from week to week, okay? No judgment. There is a lot of things to see in this world.

00:02:12: True, true. But coming back to Quito, I assume, actually, yeah.

00:02:17: So, as always, we will start with maybe checking in with each other. So, Ralf, what do you know about the city of Quito?

00:02:27: I feel like I'm cheating a little bit because, obviously, doing my research for the Galapagos Islands, I learned a little bit about this. So, yeah, I know that Quito is the capital of Ecuador. I know that it's one of the highest located, I'm not 100% if it's only capitals or if it's cities overall, but it's located pretty high in the mountains, to my knowledge. And, yeah, apart from that, I have an assumption, which I do not know, but I have an assumption that when it is not located near the seaside, it might not have been originally founded by the conquistadors because what I learned, for example, about Lima when I was in Peru is that because it's on the seaside, it's an indication for a lot of cities that were founded by the conquistadors at the seaside, well, to have a place where they can receive the ships and everything else. So my assumption would be that since it's in the mountainside and not on the seaside, that it actually was not founded by the Spanish.

00:03:30: Well, you are 100% right.

00:03:32: Woohoo!

00:03:33: Quito is the second highest capital in the world at 2,850 meters, so it's quite high. Indeed, over the Andes range, so of course it's not close to sea level per se, and it's the second World Heritage site. Two by two, let's call it.

00:03:54: When you say second highest, do you know what the highest capital actually is?

00:03:58: Yes, La Paz.

00:04:00: Ah, that's Bolivia, right?

00:04:01: Yes. Actually, I know pretty well because Bolivia always plays in La Paz, and for every Latin American,

00:04:08: For every football match? That's like their secret weapon, then, like that's just everybody's out of breath.

00:04:14: Nobody can breathe there. So, coming back a little bit to our topic, today we are going really out of place, but as always, I will mention first our sources. So, today I will also be taking information from the UNESCO World Heritage Center at unesco.org, also the community we mentioned last episode at worldheritagesite.org, which are always good sources of information for anything related to World Heritage Sites.

00:04:48: Yeah, highly recommend it. We use it really often to get some insights and travel tips, and it's really cool to hear about some of the travel stories, also from other World Heritage travelers.

00:04:58: Yes, always go there for getting good tips and also understanding how well perceived the specific site is by the community. Also, of course, we took some basic information from Wikipedia and a lot of history information from the World History Encyclopedia, especially about Atahualpa, a really famous guy in Latin America, which I will explain why in a couple of minutes, and finally, specifically talking about the most emblematic World Heritage Site in the history of Quito.

00:05:35: So that's like something dedicated just to the World Heritage of Quito?

00:05:39: Yes. And to explain what each site or each emblematic building can offer regarding the World Heritage Site.

00:05:47: Okay. That always, I have to admit, gives me even more confidence when there is a dedicated site to it. So that's a good sign already about ...

00:05:56: Yes,

00:05:56: What's going to expect us.

00:05:57: Exactly. So, well, now entering a little bit into the topic, so let's start with the history.

00:06:04: So, of course, at the beginning of the known history of Quito, there was not specifically any settlement in the Quito highlands, how we call this early period today. And there were just people living or walking through the Quito highlands as nomads, as early as 1500 BCE. And they were nomads in these pre-Columbian periods until 500 BCE. So, there are some well-known cultures that were through these highlands, for instance, the Cotocollao.

00:06:52: I could not pronounce that.

00:06:54: That's quite difficult even for me, and I speak Spanish, but they were just inhabitants in the mountains per se, and not specifically where Quito is located.

00:07:08: Then, in the 14th and 15th centuries is when the history of the city of Quito really itself starts. It's called the pre-Inca development period. And basically, it's when multiple settlements and a specific marketplace were actually created in what we all today know as Plaza San Francisco. In this market, a lot of these Andean inhabitants that were nomads exchanged goods. Some of them we know, so it was the Quijos, the Yumbo, and they basically sparked the idea of actually having an Andean, more established community.

00:07:52: So, it was, like in the beginning, more of a trading hub, or like a trading post?

00:07:58: Yes. It was a full marketplace.

00:08:01: Okay. And where everybody from the area could come together and use an exchange place.

00:08:05: Exactly. So, they probably had a lot of goods, like wool and food, and they just exchanged it in a specific place that could be located in today's Quito.

00:08:19: So, that means you know that actually Quito is quite centrally located in this whole Andean plateau, as you mentioned, when there are so many cultures interchanging.

00:08:29: We could say. And it's really common for Latin American cities to be in a really specific central plateau that could really be reachable by several groups of people.

00:08:44: Then, when the Inca conquest and rule starts, the Incas entered the city of Quito in the mid-15th century, around 1480, by Tupac Yupanqui, who later was replaced by Huayna Capac. And he basically conquered Quito in the year 1480. He was quite happy with Quito, so he made this center as one of the most important religious and political centers of the Inca Empire. And the city of Quito stood alongside Cusco and Cajamarca, which were the biggest cities of the Empire. Like, they created this triplet of cities that really defined the power of the Incas.

00:09:37: There's also quite an achievement when you think about it, that, especially being named next to Cusco, which still, like,

00:09:47: It was the main city, mm-hmm.

00:09:49: Sorry, that everybody thinks about when thinking about the Incas, so that is quite an achievement then also.

00:09:55: I think that it was quite an achievement, and it also reflects that it really depends on the ruler how successful

00:10:02: Who is the boss and, like, what does he or she like.

00:10:05: If they like the place, they will develop the place; if they don't like the place, they will just rip it apart, right?

00:10:11: Sort of a bit of a spoiler, that's also going to be a theme in the episode that I'm going to talk about next time, so... It seems to be an universal truth: Rulers can make or break places, yeah?

00:10:24: It's like bosses today. They can make your life living hell or a paradise.

00:10:31: Well, then, we entered the period of Atahualpa, actually, and the fall of the Incas. Who was Atahualpa? Atahualpa was the last Inca emperor, and he was based in Quito. He had a little bit of a difficult situation. First, his father, Huayna Capac, died of smallpox in 1528. It was, of course, a deadly epidemic that weakened the empire, and we all know that this epidemic was mostly brought by the colonization. And when his father suddenly died, he started a six-year war with his half-brother, whose name was Huáscar. And he won just before the Spaniards arrived to the Inca empire.

00:11:31: I think that's what in the end we know, obviously, we remembered the fall of the Inca empire. But when you look at it from an eagle perspective about all the events that led to this, you have the feeling really everything came together. So, obviously, you had the diseases that were brought in. Really weakened the whole empire. You had a civil war that had been going on, and obviously also weakened the empire, and well,

00:11:56: Finally, the Spaniards.

00:11:57: Yeah, with the technological advantage they have.

00:12:00: Checkmate.

00:12:02: Exactly. That's, unfortunately, how the Inca empire fell. Well, before he died, who actually started his ambush on him was Francisco Pizarro in 1532. And he ambushed Atahualpa's forces at Cajamarca, killing 7,000 of his soldiers, even though, remember, the Spaniards only had 168 people. So, what is impressive, the forces of Atahualpa were around 80,000 men, and not even one Spaniard died during this ambush.

00:12:46: I have to admit, like, I'm always curious how much of this is actually true, and in any other way, like, how much might be propaganda in a way, because we know the history is ultimately written by the winner, yeah, by the victor, so I'm curious if it was actually... Yeah, I'm curious if it was actually, because just from my point of view, yes, even with superior technology and with guns, just the sheer amount of numbers should have been able to deal with the Spanish people.

00:13:13: Yeah, I know, of course. I mean, this is what is registered in the records. It may not be 100% true and just gives this image of the all-powerful colonizers, but of course, that's the information we have today. Unfortunately, when Atahualpa was ambushed and captured, the Spaniards asked for ransom. They asked for a full room of gold and silver, which in today's world would be around $15 million. Of course, he was the ruler, so the Incas paid this gold and silver. I mean, let's keep in mind that the perception that we have about gold and silver is not the same that the indigenous people gave in that moment. It was, of course, a form of showing status and religious importance, but it was not something that was considered valuable, not to the standards of the Spaniards, at least.

00:14:13: I seem to remember that it was mainly for religious purposes,

00:14:17: Exactly,

00:14:18: right? Gold was the visualization

00:14:18: in many occasions.

00:14:20: The sun, whereas silver was the visualization or the material of the moon, so it did not have the same material value as it did for the Europeans that arrived.

00:14:30: Exactly. So, of course, when they asked for the ransom, they didn't put too much expression against it.

00:14:38: The life of your ruler on the other hand is the

00:14:40: Yeah, it's way more important. Unfortunately, the Spaniards, anyway, executed Atahualpa in 1533, one year after he was ambushed. After that, it was just a matter of time before, unfortunately, the Inca empire collapsed. Well, something interesting about Atahualpa until today, Ecuador has a really interesting legend called the Inkarri legend, where it says that one day Atahualpa's severed head will grow a new body, and when that happens, the Inca power will be restored.

00:15:15: So, like, a body will grow from the head?

00:15:20: Uh-huh, from his severed head, which we don't know where it is. We don't really think that we know where it is.

00:15:28: It sounds scary, but on the other hand, I assume every country, every place has its own specific legend here.

00:15:38: Yeah, that's quite interesting. So, it's just to reflect how important this guy was. I mean, he's really well known for all of us because he was the last one, and he was recorded, and he was pretty much kidnapped, and his people paid for the kidnappers, and still he was executed. So, it was a really dramatic circumstance, let's say.

00:16:05: Yeah, that's true. And also, what I always find curious because sort of the revival of the Inca Empire, because while it is now also quite known for its downfall after the conquest, I seem to remember that when they were expanding their own empire, obviously, the Incas were also conquerors.

00:16:25: Of course, of course, and it's not called an empire just because, and I think that that's also important to remember, that an empire comes into place by conquering others, and I think that that's the same throughout history, because history repeats itself

00:16:40: Yeah, conquer and be conquered.

00:16:42: Exactly. Well, after that, the Spanish foundation started, and now we start the period of the colonial Quito. The city was created or founded on December 6, 1534, one year after the death of Atahualpa. It was founded by Sebastián de Belalcázar, and he called it San Francisco de Quito. And the ruins of the Inca city before were called Quitu, and it was just kind of a mix between the name of the person that entered Quito and the name given by the Incas. So San Francisco de Quito. From there, Quito became a regional center, a colonial center, and by 1563, it was named the capital of the Royal Audience of Quito. Here, maybe just a parenthesis, I'll just explain that. These audiences are basically what the Spaniards called their administrative bodies and cities, just to explain that this city had the governance of the place that was around the audiences. So, for instance, we have the Audience of Bogotá. So it was just to show that this was the administrative power without saying, "Okay, that's a capital," because, of course, they didn't want to give so much freedom to these specific locations. After that, the city economically grew a lot by wool textiles. And, of course, this economic growth attracted a lot of settlers, including other Hispanic people and local inhabitants as well. Then we jump a little bit and by the 18th and 19th centuries, there was a huge struggle for independence that, well, basically all movements of independence started in Latin America. As many of you may or may not know, Ecuador belonged to Gran Colombia, which was four countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, of course. And during the 1800s, it experienced a lot of political instability, multiple coups, and finally fought for independence.

00:19:19: That's also, when you're now telling it, I know it now, because we have talked about it in the past, but that was also when you told me about the history, and then that's the reason behind the flags of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador being so similar. Which makes absolute sense when you take a look at it and know about this background, but when you are perhaps not as familiar with the history of the area, you just think, "Oh, yeah, those look pretty similar." But yeah, it's because they, together with Panama, used to be one country.

00:19:53: Exactly. And just for people to easily recognize them, the flag that does not have anything is just yellow, blue, and red, that's Colombia. The yellow, blue, and red, plus the stars, that's Venezuela, and yellow, blue, and red with the coat of arms, that's Ecuador. I'm sorry if I even confused you more.

00:20:23: I was confused in the beginning, but at least me personally, I'm okay.

00:20:28: So, nothing: Colombia, stars Venezuela, coat of arms Ecuador. Perfect. So, now, well, after the independence movement, there was the boom of growth, also in Quito's population, and by the 20th century, it became, thanks to oil and economic development, the urban and modern city that we know today. So, yeah, basically, that's the main history of the city of Quito. Now, let's talk about some fun facts before going into why it's a World Heritage Site. First of all, as Ralf also mentioned in the last episode, Quito has a really mild climate; it's called the city of eternal spring, and temperatures always vary between 13 degrees and 17, 18 degrees, so it's always nice during the day. It can be a little bit cold during the night, but you can actually visit it in all seasons. Really nice, because you really do not have to program yourself to go in a specific season. This is, I mean, it's Ecuador. We come back to what we mentioned last time, it's literally in the middle of the world. Also, the city of Quito has the biggest or the tallest winged Virgin Mary in the world. A Virgin Mary with wings.

00:22:10: Wings, yeah.

00:22:11: With wings, sorry. Yeah, and it measures over 41 meters tall. It's made of aluminum, and it was built in 1975.

00:22:24: Sometimes I have the feeling that wherever you go in Latin American countries, you will find a huge holy statue. It's like impressive.

00:22:32: Yeah, I mean, we have a really religious culture.

00:22:35: And everybody thinks about, obviously, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, but when you really get into this topic, you will learn that there are so many statues.

00:22:45: We have several in Colombia as well.

00:22:46: I know, that was also what I was really surprised by when I saw some during our trips. It was really impressive. You do not have it in your mind at the beginning, but it makes sense.

00:22:58: That's true. I mean, again, we are Catholics all the way. Then, of course, what is actually really nice about the city of Quito is that it has a real charming and historic center. So, Quito's old town keeps its local atmosphere. So, you won't find big international chains like McDonald's or Pizza Hut, just small local businesses.

00:23:27: That's cool.

00:23:28: As many other cities in Latin America, we also love to put cities around volcanoes. And Quito is no exception. Quito is surrounded by 14 volcanoes. The most important and closest is Pichincha to the west. And, of course, that makes the city experience frequent earthquakes and volcanic ash from 14 volcanoes.

00:23:55: That increases the risk a little bit.

00:23:57: But that will happen in any other city in Central America and the northern countries in South America. One of the nicest things to do in Quito is to visit the Pichincha volcano at 4,000 meters above sea level with the teleférico that gives you the most incredible views of the whole city.

00:24:29: So like I assume you can overlook the whole city then from this volcano because-

00:24:33: Exactly.

00:24:34: it is from the highest vantage Point.

00:24:35: Exactly, exactly. So that's one of the must-dos when you are there. Yeah.

00:24:40: Natural sightseeing platform, basically.

00:24:41: Perfect! And now I guess that this opens a little bit the door of why Quito is a World Heritage Site. So, first, it was inscribed, as well as Galapagos, in 1978. And the criteria were- how many criteria do you think that Quito has?

00:25:05: I assume it has less than the Galapagos Islands because they are an extraordinary one with four. Let's go with one.

00:25:18: No, actually it has two. And one is because we haven't mentioned it. Like, the first one is of course because of its historic center. It's, of course, an outstanding example of architecture, and it's incredibly well-preserved. Despite having a really highly damaging earthquake in 1917, it remains the least altered and best-preserved historic center in all of Latin America.

00:25:47: So when you want to experience-

00:25:50: Colonial,

00:25:51: as authentic as possible then you would have to go to Quito.

00:25:54: Exactly. So it's really well-preserved until today as one of the jewels of the whole country. And the second one is cultural exchange. The city of Quito has a remarkable example of an artistic style that they developed for themselves, called the Quito School, or in Spanish, Escuela Quiteña. And basically, it's a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish, and indigenous art, which made it one of the most important significant contributions of art in all of Latin America.

00:26:31: So that's an interesting combination of art styles, yeah.

00:26:33: Exactly. So this artistic school has several remarkable places around the city of Quito that you can also explore. One of them, and the most impressive, is the Convent of San Francisco, where you can really see the iconography and this art explained by itself. Not only does this place include this artistic blend, but also other ones, like, for instance, the Monastery of Santo Domingo, which is also one of the largest architectural complexes of this type of infrastructure in the Americas. It is today an art museum, and it holds more than 3,500 works of colonial art.

00:27:26: I guess that's probably not just from Ecuador, but more in general from the area, right?

00:27:31: Yeah, I would assume, but I'm not 100% sure. The other place where you can see this unique artistic style is the Church of the Society of Jesus, or La Compañía. It is famous for its facade, which is entirely carved in volcanic stone, and in its interior, you can also see the church completely covered in gold leaf. Because Catholics love gold.

00:28:02: That's true. But you have to admit it looks amazing.

00:28:05: It looks amazing.

00:28:06: It looks so impressive when you have gold leaf in it and I guess the combination of volcanic stone and gold leaf must

00:28:14: be impressive. And it's also one of the most important baroque temples in the Americas. Baroque was not per se extremely popular in the architecture of Latin America, so it's one of these extraordinary examples that you can still find today. The other place you can find that, or you can see this specific style of the baroque Escuela Quiteña, is the Basílica del Voto Nacional. This is an impressive neo-Gothic temple designed by the French architect Émile Tarlier. I may be butchering his name as well.

00:28:53: Maybe…

00:28:53: Maybe…

00:28:54: French might not be our strongest language.

00:28:57: It is not. And of course, it's a church inspired by Notre Dame. It has gargoyles, but these gargoyles represent Ecuadorian fauna like caimans, tortoises... we talked about last episode, the boobies, and pumas…

00:29:12: The bird….

00:29:13: The bird…

00:29:14: The bird, which is called the boobies.

00:29:17: We love boobies in this podcast. I can say it! And there is also another legend about this basilica. It says that it has never been fully finished. And there is a legend that whenever it is finished, Ecuador will cease to exist as a sovereign state.

00:29:45: Everything about the legends you tell me today is like really the extreme. So like, one is the return of the Inca Empire, the other one is basically the downfall of Ecuador. Like, really extreme legends.

00:30:00: Of course, I mean many cities in Latin America are about extremes, like the highest places, the most exotic places, the full of volcanoes places… so, it's just how we are. We like extreme. And the final place is Plaza de la Independencia, which is of course a big square where you will see all the state institutions and also the monuments of independence and the heroes of the whole country. This is basically why the city of Quito is a World Heritage Site, so you have to visit, it's an amazing place, and now we can give you some travel tips so your experience is as nice as I can imagine. First of all, Quito is a highly recommended destination for all seasons, also for new travelers, because it has an experience not only offering you a modern city, but also a colonial preserved city, plus the possibility to visit one of the most beautiful nature-wise places in the world, which is Galapagos.

00:31:13: Which if you did not listen to our episode last time, which I think you should, but if you did not, you can only reach the Galapagos from two cities, and one of them is Quito.

00:31:26: Exactly. So, anyway, why not stop for a couple days just to experience it. It is really safe and this historic center is very walkable. Despite it having a lot of steps and ups and downs, so please use comfortable shoes, but you will always notice police presence and so you can be reassured you will have no problem. Also, Ecuador has something really good, which is the currency is the US dollar, so making transactions is actually completely straightforward, so just bring small denominations so you can get things in the streets, and maybe tip as well. Transportation is also really easy. Taxis are really cheap and normally charge between one to three euros for a small ride, so it's really not expensive. And, you can use the apps just to avoid the overcharge of being a foreigner.

00:32:31: In case you're from the US and want to know, I think it should be a similar approach also in US dollars, so I would say like 1.50 to 4 US dollars for this, but I think the range is still similar between euros and dollars for the prices.

00:32:46: Exactly, exactly. Of course, we are talking about the second highest capital city in the world, so please mind the activities that you're going to do the first day. You can experience some altitude sickness. So make sure you acclimatize and take it easy for the first few hours. Do not go for a hike to Pichincha, at least not the first day. And apart from the attractions I mentioned before, what you will always find in the historic center, there are many other monasteries, churches, and historical buildings that you shouldn't miss out. Also, highly recommend the museums of the city. There are many museums that are highly recommended, like the Casa del Alabado, which contains pre-Columbian art, and also the Museum of the City, where you can see all the history and the remains of the Incas, and after that, the colonial city as well. I guess more than that, what we could say is just visit, experience it yourself. For some reason, they got the first World Heritage Sites in the world, so visit Ecuador as soon as possible, and when you are there, maybe move to Colombia.

00:34:04: Making some advertising for your own home country, right?

00:34:07: Visit Colombia, viaja por ella. Travel through it. So yeah, what else could we say? I mean, it sounds amazing, and again, we will do it for sure.

00:34:19: Yeah, I have to admit, I was aware, of course, in advance that it was a World Heritage Site. I did not really know why, but when you mentioned it is classified as the best preserved colonial center, that's quite an achievement, because there are a lot of very beautiful, well-preserved colonial centers, so this must be a really special experience, and I have to admit, it, yeah, it's...

00:34:41: And the nice things have been preserved like that, because, of course, I mean, it is really hard to see today, for instance, in Bogota, you can also see a really historically preserved colonial city, but the level of preservation is what makes the difference, and makes it unique.

00:35:02: And I assume it is also a struggle to keep it like this, because I know for a lot of other countries, it's sometimes really difficult to keep the colonial centers intact, because, well, they are buildings that are hundreds of years old, they are now exposed to all kind of, well, influence factors.

00:35:18: And we have many volcanoes close to many cities.

00:35:23: So, it's very, very curious, so thank you very much for telling me all of this, and making me learn also more about Quito. After this combination of the episode about the Galapagos Islands and Quito, it really is like, okay, Ecuador needs to be really high on our next location plan.

00:35:42: Exactly. And it should also be yours for our listeners. For the rest, we can only say thank you so much for listening to all our...

00:35:53: To our ranting and sometimes not the smartest comments, but we hope you had as much fun as we had listening to each other, and next week...

00:36:03: What are we doing next week?

00:36:05: Next week it's, again, my turn. So, what I already can tell is that we will not stay in Latin America or South America, so, unfortunately, not World Heritage Site No. 3 for Ecuador. We're going to move to Europe and talk about... I think one of my personal favorite World Heritage sites, for some reasons, which I will probably discuss more in detail in the next episode, but,

00:36:35: Looking forward to it, and believe me, it's gonna be, I mean, I'm pretty sure you are gonna listen to his excitement, his excited voice.

00:36:44: Yeah, this will be quite true. No, until then, thank you so much for tuning in today also again, and we're looking forward to seeing you in the next episode then hopefully.

00:36:53: Until the next one, goodbye.

00:36:55: Thank you, bye bye.